Oscar winner Robert Downey Jr. might be better known for his role as Tony Stark in Iron Man, but his home is a far cry from the modernized 'Stark Mansion' in Malibu. His real home, designed by Fox-Nahem Associates, is a riot of color, pattern and creative furniture layouts.
A contemporary, playful space, the actor's home embraces one of my favorite to date – corner seats that prioritize conversation, and make the most of an underused space. The kitchen is the central hub of the home – a place to eat, cook, socialize, work, rest, and play for the whole family. As physical barriers between these separate rooms merge into one, a functional and comfortable kitchen seating area (with or without a table) is a must-have feature.
A photo posted by on Introducing architectural features in a cooking space is also one of the best ways to . Sometimes the obvious wall for a run of cabinetry ends at a window. Rather than abruptly stopping the sweep of furniture, with wasted space at the end, Kasia Piorko, founder of Kate Feather, suggests making a feature of the area with a window seat.
‘Soft seating in a kitchen is always desirable,’ she says. ‘Creating a spot to look out of the window onto the garden brings calmness to the design.’ One of the big surprises in an open-plan room can be just how little space you need to add to gain enough useable room for a dining area in your existing kitchen – often a mere matter of feet is all you need to fit a compact solution such as banq.
